Teana's Travels Book 19: Darkness from the Moon
by D.K.N
Summary: The Dimensional Defense Force's Autobot allies learn of a surprise lying dormant on their Earth's Moon: Sentinel Prime, Optimus' predecessor. But things are not as clean-cut as they appear, for the Decepticons are readying a plan decades in the making... Rated T for Violence and Language
1. Sentinel in the Shadows

Sorry this took me forever; it was a while before I found the free time to watch the movie so I could write this. Also, I'm probably gonna be skipping and compressing things for ease of writing (and because I don't want to keep you guys waiting even longer); things will make much more sense if you've seen _Dark of the Moon_. Fortunately, I also found my copy of the novelization.

**THE FOLLOWING THINGS ARE THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS; I DO NOT OWN THEM AND MAKE NO MONEY OFF OF THIS VENTURE**

_Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha _(Teana, various other characters) – 7Arcs

_Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni _(Shion, the "Keiichi Crew") – 07th Expansion and Studio Deen

_Shuffle! _(Kaede Fuyō, Rin, Asa & Ama, Sia & Nerine, Primula) – Navel and Asread

_Erika's New Perfume _(Marie, Sarah, Erika, Timmy, Veronica) – Deviant-Art artist Lance the Young

_Mai-chan's Daily Life _(Mai, Kizuna) – Waita Uziga

_Star Wars _(Ahsoka, Cody, Rex, _Force Unleashed_ cast) – George Lucas, Lucasfilm

_Halo _(Forerunners, UNSC, Sangheili Alliance) – Bungie and 343 Industries

_StarCraft _(multiple characters, events, and devices) – Blizzard Entertainment

_Naruto _(jutsu, abilities) – Masashi Kishimoto

_Mahō Sensei Negima _(spells, abilities, characters) – Ken Akamatsu

_Kingdom Hearts _(Keyblades, Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed, Aqua, other characters and concepts) – Square-Enix

_Neon Genesis Evangelion_ (Mana Kirishima, other characters) – Studio Gainax

_Elfen Lied _(Kaede K., others) – Lynn Okamoto, Arms

_Red vs. Blue _(The Blood-Gulch Crew, the ex-Freelancers) – Rooster Teeth

_My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic _– Hasbro, Lauren Faust

**_Transformers Film Series_**** – Hasbro, Michael Bay**

_Transformers: Beast Wars _– Hasbro, Mainframe Entertainment

_Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon _– Naoko Takeuchi

_Digimon _– Google and Wikipedia won't tell me who presently owns this franchise

_Yu-Gi-Oh!_ – Kazuki Takahashi, Viz Media

_Sonic the Hedgehog _- SEGA

_Gears of War _– Epic Games

_Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles _– Columbia Tristar (I think)

_Mass Effect _– Bioware

_Metroid_ - Nintendo

_Puella Magi Madoka Magica _**– **Gen Urobuchi, SHAFT

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES

**-****_BOOK 19 START_****-**

"We were once a peaceful race of intelligent mechanical beings. But then came The War – between the Autobots who fought for freedom, and the Decepticons who dreamt of tyranny. Overmatched and outnumbered, our defeat was all but certain.

"But in the war's final days, one Autobot ship escaped the battle. It was carrying a secret cargo, which would have changed our planet's fate. A desperate mission, our final hope…

"A hope that vanished."

-X-

"In the years since our arrival, our new home, Earth, has seen much change. Energon detectors guard its cities now. Long-range defense systems watch the skies. So now, we assist our allies in solving human conflicts, to prevent humanity from bringing harm to itself. We work in secret teams on various missions around the world. And all the while, we search for signs of our true enemies' return."

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

**Dimension TFM-7, Earth**

**Pripyat, Ukraine**

**LOCAL DATE: June 29, 2011 AD**

A squad of NEST soldiers, all of them in armored hazardous-environment gear designed by Wheeljack to withstand truly incredible amounts of radiation and to provide protection in a fight, moved cautiously through the twisted wreckage deep inside the old fission plant. Accompanying them were two DDF personnel – Marie, who was wearing similarly radiation-proof full-body armor (though somewhat more streamlined in design), and Rattrap, who – being a Cybertronian – did not need any protection from the type of radiation that made Chernobyl so lethal to organics. They were here to investigate an artifact of potential Cybertronian origin brought to their attention by the Ukranian government.

As they moved through the wreckage, they found a large, curved machine that was holding a smaller, spherical component with several bundles of cut cabling attached to it.

"Optimus, we've got a visual" Col. Lennox radioed to the Autobot leader outside. "Looks like the object's clamped in some kind of a metal harness."

"This thing's container has Soviet space program markings on it" one of the soldiers said.

"Sir!" another one interrupted. "We've got an Energon reading! Big, and coming closer!"

The ground suddenly trembled.

"I don't think this is a Decepticon" Rattrap said. "No 'Con has this big an Energon signature. The only thing that does is… is… Aw, slag."

"What?" Marie asked. "What is it?"

"We're all gonna die."

With almost no warning, a huge metal serpent with a claw-like structure for a head punched through the nearby wall, and was then joined by another, and then two more. And then, as they dove for cover and opened fire on the things attacking them, the soldiers realized they were not four large serpentine metal creatures, but the limbs of a single, very, _very_ large synthetic life-form. One of them grabbed hold of the artifact and then withdrew, as everyone (except the poor sod who'd been torn in half by one of the tentacles) retreated for the exit.

"What the hell is this?-!" Lennox shouted.

"A Driller!" Rattrap replied. "Cybertron's apex predator!"

Everyone (barely) made it outside just as the main snake-like body of the Driller tore its way up through the roof, dragging its way out and heading towards them. At this point, though, Optimus Prime rushed in, carrying a sword and shield from his trailer armory. He used the shield to block an attempt by one of the claws to crush Lennox, and then his glowing-hot blade severed the tip of the tentacle-claw carrying the artifact. The Driller's head, a massive lamprey-like mouth with countless grinding blades, roared and dove for Optimus, but Marie fired a Super-Missile shot into its mouth, damaging it and convincing it to back off.

Farther back along the Driller's body, near the deep pit it had emerged from, a 'passenger' compartment opened up to reveal a tall Decepticon with a single glowing red optic and a huge cannon for a right arm. He snarled as the Driller retreated underground, carrying him with it.

"Who the hell was that?" Lennox asked.

"That was Shockwave," Optimus replied, "one of Megatron's most powerful and vicious soldiers."

"And what's this thing he was trying to grab?" Marie nudged the spherical device.

"…It can't be" Optimus murmured as he got down on hands and knees to inspect the device closer. "This is an engine part from a long-lost Autobot ship."

"So what were the Soviets doing with it?" Lennox wondered.

"What, indeed…" Optimus rumbled.

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

**Accureta Systems Headquarters**

**Five Days Later**

Sam Witwicky really did not care for where his life was right now. All the things he'd been through, saving the damned world _twice_, and here he was as a mailboy for some corporate mega-company. At least, though, he'd been made 'in the know' regarding the whole multi-dimensional coalition thing, and he'd recently got a pair of gifts from them just in case he found himself in the fray again – one of which was strapped to his left arm underneath the sleeve of his work-shirt, and the other stashed in a small holster on his right hip hidden by an active camouflage device.

Now, he stood in an elevator as it slowly moved down, returning him to his main work floor. Others had stepped off, leaving him alone with a short Asian man in glasses. As the elevator descended, the man sidestepped a bit closer.

"Sam Witwicky?" he asked in a harsh whisper.

"…Yyyeah…" Sam replied, confused.

The man looked and sounded a bit… desperate as he whispered. "I can't say everything, but I know who you are, what you've done. You need to warn your Autobot friends; the Decepticons are planning a trap for them."

Now Sam was listening, his heart-rate going up. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"My name is Jerry Wang" the man said, speaking quietly but quickly. "Like I said, I can't tell you everything, but the 'Cons are prepping for something big. They're assassinating humans who've worked with the American and Soviet space programs. Here…" He pulled out from his pants a bunch of rolled-up papers held together by a rubber band. "Here's what I got. You'll understand once you look at it. Your big friends are walking into a trap."

The elevator dinged as it reached the floor, and Wang hurried out, heading for his office. Sam waited several seconds, to just before the doors closed, to slip out and head for his own desk. Carefully, he unwrapped the parcel and spread the papers out, going over things, trying to connect the dots. After a few minutes, he knew he couldn't see the complete picture, but the vague outline he _could_ see was rather worrying. He decided this needed a little more confirmation. He headed for Mr. Wang's soundproofed office, approaching quietly as he noticed the door open a tiny bit.

"I did everything you want!" Mr. Wang was heard shouting. "I swear, I didn't-"

"Jerry…" a second voice made itself known, speaking with faux-friendliness, "you know it's not nice to lie to me. Now… What did you say to Witwicky?"

"I didn't say _anything_!"

"You know, Jerry, you always have been my _favorite~_. But now, my superiors need me to… 'suicide' you~."

At this point, Sam had quietly uncovered the device strapped to his left arm, and drawn his other 'gift' from its cloaked holster. In a flash of movement, he activated the Kig-Yar energy shield gauntlet and forced the door open, seeing the condor-like Decepticon perched on Wang's desk. The little 'Con immediately turned and opened fire with its twin machineguns, only for the rounds to bounce harmlessly off the shield. Sam then brought up his other 'gift' – a Sangheili Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol – and returned fire as fast as his finger could pulse the trigger. Glowing green bolts of plasma crashed against Laserbeak's body, burning through thin armor as the birdlike Decepticon screeched in pain and anger. Laserbeak fired again, forcing Sam to bring his shield up, and then used the opportunity to escape through the window, flying off into the D.C. sky as fast as his injured body could carry him.

"Sorry I don't have a witty one-liner right now" Sam said to Mr. Wang, who was panting lightly from adrenaline. "I'm sure I'll think of an awesome one 20 minutes from now. …We need to get you out of here, to a safe zone, and then I need to get to NEST."

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

**Outside NEST HQ**

**35 Minutes Later**

The hunk'o'junk on wheels made its way up to the gates leading into the "Department of Human Services", manned by two guards with concealed weapons. Jerry Wang had already been escorted to a DDF-run safehouse, and while there they had picked up a visiting member from another realm – what appeared to be an unusually large peregrine falcon sat in the back seat of the old car as it drove up to the gate.

"Sorry, sir, but this area is off-limits" a guard said.

In response, the 'falcon' in the back seat transformed, the two guards quickly recognizing her.

"Autobot business, boys" Airrazor said. "Let us through, please."

A few minutes later, Sam, Carly, and Airrazor found themselves walking down a hallway that supposedly led to a second-floor overlook in one of the facility's 'garages'; Wheelie, in RC truck form, was driving alongside them, Brains riding on top of him. They were accompanied by Colonel Lennox, who actually seemed a bit glad to see Sam again, and by a cold and dismissive government official named Charlotte Mearing who seemed decidedly not so. From what Lennox could tell them, the Autobots had recently recovered five "pillars" from a crashed Autobot ship on the Moon's far side… along with the stasis-locked body of Sentinel Prime, Optimus' predecessor.

The group entered the overlook, watching as down below Optimus Prime approached Sentinel's inert form, the Matrix of Leadership floating just above and in front of his outstretched hand.

"Sentinel Prime…" he said. "We bid you return."

He then shoved the Matrix into Sentinel's open chest compartment, infusing the old Cybertronian with energy. Sentinel Prime came alive as Energon flowed through him, his optics lighting up blue as he came back online. And then he lunged forward, acting on instinct as he pinned Optimus to the floor and drew one of his swords. The other Autobots quickly signaled the on-site soldiers to back off.

"Sentinel, wait!" Optimus shouted as he tried to stop the blade from cutting into his neck. "It is I, Optimus Prime!"

Sentinel stepped back as sense and reason returned to him, looking around at the other Autobots and recognizing his old student.

"The war…" he murmured. "The war!"

"The war was lost" Optimus replied, retrieving the Matrix. "Cybertron is now but a barren wasteland. We have taken refuge here on the planet Earth; its native sapient race, the humans, are our allies."

Sentinel was silent for a few seconds as he tapped into the Internet, information flooding his mind.

"My ship… we came under fire… The Pillars! Where are the Pillars?"

"You managed to save five of them, including the Master Control unit."

"Only _five_? We had _hundreds_!"

"Excuse me!" Director Mearing interrupted. "What exactly _are_ these 'Pillars' you're speaking of?"

"They are advanced prototype technology," Sentinel replied, "which act in concert to form a 'space bridge'. They defy the laws of physics as humans currently understand them to move large amounts of matter through time and space."

"You're talking about a large-scale, interstellar-range translocation system?"

"Yes. It was to be used to transport refugees."

"Refugees, or divisions of soldiers, heavy weapons, maybe thermonuclear or antimatter warheads! You can't just bring weapons of mass destruction into our biosphere! You kinda have to clear customs first; a little matter called 'paperwork' that separates us from the animals!"

"I will overlook your condescending tone, bureaucrat, if you heed the gravity of mine: the Deceptions must not learn that the Pillars are here. If they do, it could mean the end of your world."

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

**Sam & Carly's Apartment**

**Next Day**

After being coldly dismissed by Mearing as "just a messenger" and sent home with Bumblebee for protection, Sam had called in an old favor, while 'Bee had contacted the DDF base; most of the Dimensional Defense Force's forces were busy trying to hunt down bigger fish in other realms, but a handful of volunteers had crossed over to assist in investigations. Now, Sam and his group of allies – the eccentric yet savvy Seymour Simmons, Simmons' aide "Dutch", Bumblebee, Wheelie & Brains, Teana Uchiha-Lanstar & Subaru Nakajima, Haruka Ten'ō, and Twilight Sparkle (it was still hard for Sam to believe that a 'my little' pony was so competent and powerful, even after he'd seen the DDF 'scrying footage', though the fact she was presently in her human form helped a little) – were going over every last scrap of data that Wang had given them, connecting every dot, seeing every pattern. Sam's boss had delivered data on Wang himself, another piece of the puzzle. The Decepticons were killing people who'd worked in the American or Russian space programs, especially those who'd done anything connected to the Moon's far side.

"I don't think it's a matter of the 'Cons lookin' for something" Simmons said. "I think… they've got somethin' to hide."

"But what?" Twilight wondered. "We've already found the _Ark_ and rescued Sentinel Prime; what else could there be?"

It was at this point, however, that Carly came home. As Sam went off after her to do damage control, Brains spoke up: two "missing" cosmonauts were alive and well, nearby in Atlantic City.

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

**Russian VIP Club**

**70 Minutes Later**

The group (minus Subaru and Twilight, who were waiting outside with Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Mirage, and the Twins, just in case) made their way into the club, where music played and drinks flowed. It didn't take long to find their 'targets', seated with a pair of fancy-looking ladies with (Teana noticed) concealed handguns.

"So…" Simmons said as he sat down. "Agent Seymour Simmons, Sector Eight, formerly Seven. We know who you are, _cosmonautchiks_. You were supposed to travel to the far side of the Moon. …And then it all got shut down. A shame. The question is… why?"

Teana put a hand on his shoulder upon noticing the guards' hands drifting towards their guns.

"Look" she said to the cosmonauts. "I'll give it to you boys straight, since we don't have time to play around. The Decepticons have been killing people from NASA and the Soviet space program, all of whom worked on things involving the Moon's far side. We think the Decepticons have something there they want to hide, and we think you two can help us find out what."

The two ex-cosmonauts shared a look. "Follow me" one of them said to the group as he got up, leading them to the back room.

They found themselves gathered around a table, as the other ex-cosmonaut pulled a manila folder out of a safe. An Omnitool link allowed Twilight, Subaru, and the Autobots to look & listen in.

"America was first to sent man to Moon," the first man said, "but USSR was first to send camera. In 1959, our Luna-3 take pictures of far side, sees nothing. But in 1963, Luna-4 sees-"

"-strange rocks" the other man finished. "Here, look at picture."

The image showed hundreds of small, cylindrical objects scattered about, which Sam quickly recognized.

"I know these" he said. "They're not rocks; they're called 'Pillars', and they're components for some kinda FTL teleport system the Autobots were working on back when the war was confined to their homeworld. We've got five over at NEST now, including the Master Control unit."

"The Decepticons must've raided the ship before Apollo-11 even got there" Simmons said. "Took the pillars, hid 'em, used humans to keep 'em hidden."

"This doesn't make sense!" Sam said. "If they found the ship and have all those Pillars, why'd they leave Sentinel Prime there? I mean, if only Sentinel can use them…"

He stopped, trailing off as realization dawned on him.

"He's the one thing they still need" Haruka said it for him. "They left him there on purpose."

"…We gotta find him" Sam got to his feet. "We gotta find Sentinel _now_! They're coming for him!"

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

**I-66**

**25 Minutes Later**

"_Witwicky, I thought I told you not to call this-_"

"Mearing, listen to me! The whole thing's been a giant set-up! The Decepticons _wanted_ Optimus to find Sentinel Prime, because his Matrix is the only thing that could revive him! Sentinel's the key; he's what they're after. We're escorting him back to NEST now. The Decepticons want the space-bridge, and they need Sentinel for that!"

"_But we have the Pillars at NEST!_"

"Mearing, you have _five_ Pillars! I just learned that the 'Cons have _hundreds_! You've played right into their hands! The Decepticons are coming for Sentinel Prime!"

Seven vehicles sped down Interstate 66: Sentinel Prime, in his fire-truck vehicle form, led the pack, followed by Bumblebee (carrying Sam), Sideswipe (with Teana and Haruka), and Mirage (carrying Twilight), and then with the Twins and Dutch & Simmons' luxury car (also carrying Subaru) bringing up the rear. As they made a beeline down the freeway, cars moving out of their way, they received company: five black Chevrolet Suburbans coming up behind them, police lights flashing.

"Cool" Simmons said. "We get an escort."

And then the closest one shifted form, and now it was a Decepticon sprinting right behind the car, quickly closing in. It reached into the convertible and yanked Simmons up, tossing him over its shoulder. Subaru immediately leapt out, bounding off the Decepticon's head and conjuring her Barrier Jacket mid-flight, using a burst of speed to catch Simmons and then roll to a stop, drop the dazed man off, and then speed up in pursuit as she shifted her BJ to her Mark-7 Mjolnir armor, Mach Caliber going into overdrive as she rolled alongside Skids & Mudflap. The five transformed Dreads leapt over a fallen freeway sign and gave chase, intent on catching Sentinel.

Teana and Haruka had already transformed at this point, Gamma-1 and Sailor Uranus immediately firing blasts of destructive magical force at the pursuing Decepticons as Sideswipe swerved to dodge a burst of gunfire. One of them tried to leap onto Bumblebee, who braked and allowed the Dread to sail over him; then, the yellow Autobot's weapons unfolded from his vehicle form's roof, opening fire on the stunned target, to some effect. Sideswipe and Mirage's guns joined the cause, focusing fire on Bee's target, and soon the 'Con went down, having taken one too many hits to its Spark.

The four remaining Dreads continued their pursuit of Sentinel, one pulling ahead. One that was bringing up the rear staggered and stumbled as a World Shaker from Uranus blasted it in the hip, and this gave Subaru time to leap up its back and bring a full-power Vibration Shatter down on its head. The now-headless 'Con corpse began tumbling to a stop, Subaru having already leapt off and rolled ahead. Another Dread swung its claws, capable of tearing tempered steel, at Mirage, who found himself vanishing and reappearing a few dozen meters ahead in a burst of magenta light; Twilight then teleported herself up onto Mirage's roof and sent a wave of mana bolts flying back at the off-balanced Decepticon, which gave Skids & Mudflap time to catch up, blast him in the back, scamper up, and flip forward into the air over the Dread's head, the two firing simultaneous cannon shots down that blew the 'Con's head to bits.

"Nobody messes with the twins!" Skids shouted as he and Mudflap high-fived in midair, before shifting to vehicle modes as they landed and continuing pursuit.

The battle moved to city streets as Sentinel sped down an off-ramp and headed for NEST HQ, the two Dreads pursuing him. As they neared the gate, however, the largest of the Autobots dropped in from out of nowhere into the Dreads' path. They transformed to meet him and tried to slow down, but their momentum kept them going, carrying one straight into Jetfire's axe, bisecting it mid-torso. The other one was clotheslined by the massive Autobot, being sent tumbling end-over-end down the street. The Dread rolled to its feet, snarling as it drew its weapon, but then a cannon shot blew its head open. Ironhide stepped out, nodding to Jetfire, who nodded back before stomping on the head of the half-a-Decepticon trying to crawl at him.

"Really don't make 'em like they used to, do they?" Jetfire said.

Everyone hurried into the NEST base's lot, getting out and getting ready.

"Ironhide, Lennox," Sam shouted, "you've gotta protect Sentinel! He's the key to all this!"

"Yes…" Sentinel Prime said as he transformed. "Indeed I am. What you must realize, my Autobot 'brothers', is that we were never going to be able to win the arm. For the sake of our race, of our home, a deal had to be made… _with Megatron_."

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Sentinel spun, acid-rust blaster being drawn and pointed at Ironhide. He fired… and Ironhide vanished in a burst of magenta light, the lethal shot passing through where he'd been an instant before, and reappeared several meters away. Twilight collapsed to her knees, tired, but had enough air in her lungs to shout out one word that knocked everyone out of their stupor:

"_TRAITOR!-!_"

That seemed to set everything in motion; Ironhide and Bumblebee immediately opened fire on Sentinel, who quickly brought his shield to bear, blocking the shots. He returned fire, and the two veterans threw themselves out of the way.

"We've gotta get out of here!" Jetfire shouted. "None of us can take down a Prime!"

Twilight and Teana both began charging power.

"Wait, don't!" Haruka/Uranus stopped them. "He's a Prime! That means he's completely immune to all forms of offensive magic-, chakra-, or Force-based techniques! All you'll do is draw his attention! There's… There's nothing any of us can do to hurt him. We need to stay out of his way, and warn the others!"

Teana growled, but acquiesced, nodding and backing down as Sentinel shifted form and drove into the NEST base proper, the Autobots firing a few shots as they scattered out of his way. Several minutes later, a black and red fire truck drove out onto the road and sped away, carrying five large metal storage cases and leaving behind the decimated wreckage inside NEST's headquarters.

As Optimus arrived, learned the gravity of the situation, the depths of the betrayal, it was all he could do not to weep from guilt. Sentinel and the Decepticons had set a masterful trap, and he'd fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

**-****_CHAPTER END_****-**

Next Time: the second half


	2. The Needs of the Many

Just to explain something:

From the Transformers Wiki, regarding movie-verse Starscream: "**Starscream** is a hero on the wrong side. Over the centuries he's come to believe both Optimus and Megatron have lost sight of what is best for the Cybertronian race, and simply pursue their own agendas."

I simply took that forgotten-by-the-movie facet of his character and ratcheted it up, hence his turn to good at the end of Book 18 and his continued heroics here.

SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

Decepticons. Dozens of them, all pouring out through the space-bridge linked to the far side of the Moon, wreaking havoc in the D.C. night before scanning various vehicles and slipping away through the chaos, bound for locations all over the world. In the midst of all this, Optimus chasing down and tackling Sentinel, only to be overpowered and pinned to a statue with a sword to his throat.

"The choice is yours, Optimus" the old traitor growled. "Let the humans serve us, or perish. …You're lucky I won't kill you now. I have bigger matters to attend to."

As the fallen Autobot walked away, Optimus staggered to his feet. "This isn't over…" he rumbled.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

"_Renounce Optimus Prime and his followers, or face the consequences. The choice is yours. We await your reply._"

That was the closing line of Sentinel Prime's proclamation to the leaders of Earth's nations: exile the Autobots. The United Nations replied with "No way in hell", but were all overruled as the governments of the world, acting in fear, promptly acquiesced to the ex-Autobot's demands. Worse, Sentinel made it clear that he would not give them the time needed for a DDF ship to arrive and pick them up; they were to be kicked off of Earth _now_.

Thus it was that Sam Witwicky and company found themselves at the space center, where the old Autobot ship _Xanthium_ was strapped to a Saturn-V rocket and being prepped for launch. The mood was somber as everyone prepared to carry out the order to get rid of Earth's last, best hope against Sentinel and the Decepticons. Most of the DDF group had headed back to their hidden base to contact the rest of the organization and tell them what was going on; Twilight was at the space center, joined by a few others – Thane, Dinobot, Mami, and Minako/Venus – who'd been on standby at said base. Sam was acting… odd, but there was nothing to be done about it at the moment.

The massive rocket's booster engines roared to life, and the huge vessel was carried up into the sky on a plume of fire and smoke. But as it soared upward, initial booster rockets detaching, scanners detected something coming down.

"That's an F-18" Epps said. "The hell's it doing?"

"That's not a human aircraft…" Dinobot said. "That's Thundercracker!"

All the ground-bound people could do was watch helplessly as a barrage of missiles from the Decepticon flyer impacted the rising spacecraft, blowing it to bits in a massive explosion. Everyone stood in place, disbelieving horror rendering the control room utterly silent, which mirrored that of the rest of the world as they watched on their television screens. Mami collapsed to her knees. And then Seymour Simmons turned to Charlotte Mearing.

"That…" he growled "is what happens when you do what the Decepticons want."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

"I'm going to find her."

"Not alone, you're not. I'm comin' with you."

Everyone could scarcely believe it: a human collaborator working with the Decepticons, hiding in Chicago with Carly Spencer as a hostage. Now, as the world watched in horror as the Decepticons began their all-out assault on Illinois' capital to transform it into a fortress, killing every human they got in their crosshairs, Epps and Sam made ready to mount a rescue mission, joined by a quartet of DDF volunteers.

"I'll contact my old NEST buddies," Epps said as he and Sam got into the former's car, "we'll get in there, grab your girlfriend, and bring this Gould guy in."

"We have managed to get a message through to the rest of the Dimensional Defense Force" Thane said. "They are busy, but they will likely send a task force within the next 24 hours."

"Why are you helping me?" Sam asked.

"Because…" Epps replied, as Dinobot cocked his heavy rifle, "that asshole killed _our_ friends, too. And I wanna make damn sure he goes down in the same kinda flames they did."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

The convoy of cars arrived at a scene of devastation. Chicago was in ruins – buildings burned and crumbled, cars abandoned and wrecked, bodies and charred skeletons in the streets. Minako and Mami watched as a group of injured, frightened children ran past, trying to find a new place to hide. Thane closed a dead man's eyes. And Epps & his team stared out at the carnage.

"Your girlfriend's in the middle of all _that_?" Epps said.

A pair of F-18s flew in toward the city, only to fly right into the gunsights of a trio of patrolling Decepticon fighters, which blew them out of the sky.

"…I ain't goin' in there" one of Epps' team said.

"No-one's going in" Epps said.

"…I am" Sam replied, as he started walking. "With or without you, I'll find her."

"Sam!" Epps ran after him. "You're gonna get yourself killed! That what you want? You came all the way here just to die?-!"

"She's here because of me!" Sam snapped. "It's my fault she's in this mess; I need to get her out!"

"Listen to me. If you go in there – and that's even _if_ Carly's still alive – there's no way in hell you're ever gonna reach her!"

"So that's it then? We just give up?"

"It's over, Sam. There's nothing we can do. We can't get to her. I'm sorry, but it's over."

"_Incoming!-!_"

Everyone quickly took cover as a Decepticon fighter flew in, firing its guns at a pack of civilians, reducing them to ashes and charred bones. It went after the group next, forcing them into cover as their weapons fire bounced off its armor. Sam and Epps were pinned to the street as the hostile craft hovered less than a meter over them. It moved up and back, lining its main gun up to blast them to kingdom come… when suddenly an armor-piercing cannon shell punched clean through it, causing it to crash down on its belly a few dozen meters away. The injured pilot tried to pull himself out, but the hatch was stuck. The ground thudded with massive footsteps, and a huge spent shell casing bounced off the ground with a loud clang.

"We will kill them all…" Optimus Prime said with cold fury as he walked up. "Perhaps now the leaders of Earth's nations will finally understand that Sentinel and his Decepticons will never leave Earth alone."

Over at the crashed fighter, the Wreckers quickly tore the hapless pilot apart.

"H-How?" Sam said. "I saw your ship get blown up!"

"The ship?" Roadbuster laughed. "We were never _on_ the ship, laddie!"

"We were hidden in the first booster rocket to separate" Leadfoot explained. "Splashed down in the Atlantic, just as planned!"

"Thing was an ancient piece of crap, anyways" Topkick said. "Never woulda made it past the mesosphere."

"The Decepticons aren't just wrecking the city for wanton destruction" Optimus said as the other Autobots drove up (except for Jetfire, who had headed over to link up with the humans at NEST). "They're making Chicago into a giant fortress, and ensuring nobody can see what they're up to."

"We need to find a way in there…" Sam's eyes fell on the fighter. "Bumblebee, can you fly this?"

The yellow Autobot moved his hand in a 'so-so' gesture.

"What is that? So-so? So you can 'so-so' fly it? …That doesn't inspire confidence, 'Bee."

"He'll do fine, kid" Leadfoot said. "Alright, boys! Let's get this enemy dingwig ship-shape top-tight ready!"

It only took around 10 minutes for the Wreckers to get the fighter in working order again. Slightly unsteadily, it took off and flew deeper into the city, bound for Trump Tower. While Sam and Bumblebee went off on their little rescue mission, the DDF group, Epps' group, and the rest of the Autobots drove through the city, being as stealthy as they could as they made their way further in (though the presence of Warpath, with his Scorpion tank alt-mode, meant they still drew plenty of stares from survivors). It was less than 15 minutes, though, before they saw Bumblebee's craft spiraling down from above, smoke trailing from its portside engine. They quickly made their way over to where the craft made its hard landing, arriving there just as Bumblebee was prying himself out of the vehicle, while Sam & Carly were holding each other in relief. Draped over one of the aircraft's wings and partially jammed into the damaged thruster was the headless body of Laserbeak.

"Well, that was thrilling" Carly said, a little breathlessly.

Sam's eyes, however, then fell on a small, damaged machine of obvious human origin. Epps disembarked from Optimus and ran over to join him.

"It's one of our UAVs!" he said. "Maybe…" He then leaned down in front of it, staring into the camera. "Flight control, do you copy? I say again, do you copy? Can you show if you see us – rotate, or something?"

After a few seconds, the camera ball moved down and then slightly up, focusing on him. Sam and Carly ran into its field of view.

"If you can hear us," Sam said, "this is ground zero! Sentinel Prime is getting ready to activate his space-bridge! He's planning to transport Cybertron here, to our solar system! He wants to use humanity as slave labor to rebuild it!"

"They're on top of a building by the Chicago River; it's owned by Hotchkiss Gould investments. Now, the master control pillar is in the southeast cupola. It needs to be destroyed or we're all dead!"

"We need to move before the fighters spot us" Optimus said once the 'conversation' was done. "Wait here until we scout a route ahead."

"We got a rocket with us" Sam pointed to the launcher that one of Epps' men had brought along. "Could we use that to shoot down the pillar?"

"We're eight blocks away" Epps replied. "We've gotta get closer to have a shot."

"Not closer" one of the soldiers said. "Higher. We need a clear line-of-sight, maybe from that glass building."

"And it's across the river. Gonna have a hell of a time trying to sneak up."

"We've only got one rocket."

"One's all we need" Sam said.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

As Epps & his squad, Sam & Carly, and Minako/Venus & Dinobot made their way toward the damaged glass tower (Mami and Thane went with the Autobots), a flight of four V22 Ospreys and three donated SICON dropships made their way over Lake Michigan, approaching the ravaged city. Each was carrying a squad of soldiers wearing wing-suits, and in the lead Osprey was Col. Lennox along with four DDF additions.

"Let's hope Witwicky and Epps are still in one piece by the time we get there" Garrus said as he checked that his jetpack was firmly attached and functional, holding his helmet in his off hand.

"Witwicky's a survivor" Homura replied as she inspected the armored form of her outfit while checking her own thruster pack. "I can tell that much."

"Indeed" Silverbolt said. "The boy has a strong heart." The Maximal's expression grew dark as a holoscreen showed the devastation in the city. "…The Decepticons will pay _dearly_ for the lives they have taken."

"Damn right" Rainbow Dash growled, standing ready in the new custom 'magitek' armor forged for her by Luna herself, and looking at the HUD on the visor projected over her eyes that showed the status of the twin 'thought-fired' machineguns mounted below and in front of her wings. "They didn't show all those people any mercy, so they won't be getting any."

As Lennox explained the drop plan, Decepticon fighters began to emerge and attack from the city. An Osprey took a round that ripped its starboard wing off, sending it cartwheeling through the air and into the lake. One of the SICON dropships took a hit, but was able to make a water landing, being left adrift and stranded but intact with its passengers & crew alive. One fighter heading right for the lead Osprey was suddenly blasted by a pair of missiles, and the human crafts' pilots looked in surprise as an F22 Raptor with familiar markings flew alongside them in escort position, firing at the attacking fighters. Jetfire's SR71 Blackbird mode joined a second later, adding his missile launchers to the cause.

"…Why did no-one tell us Starscream switched sides?" Lennox asked.

"It was classified, for the sake of his maintaining deep cover amongst the enemy" Homura replied. "It seems he has finally decided to break cover and defy Megatron & Sentinel openly."

The surviving aircraft flew into the city, taking position beside Willis Tower, slowly hovering up toward the top to give the jumpers more altitude to glide from. Thundercracker flew in and started firing at them, damaging one of the SICON dropships, only to be chased away by Jetfire and Starscream. With the way clear, everyone deployed, splitting into different groups to reach different objectives.

Lennox's group – himself, six other men, and the four DDF personnel – weaved between and around buildings as they made for their objective. A trio of Decepticon fighters began pursuing them, firing their guns – meant to hit Transformer-sized targets – and missing; Silverbolt and Homura briefly 'fell' backward behind the lead pursuer, firing wing-missiles and an M19 rocket at it and sending it down in flames, before then moving forward to regroup with the rest of the 'flock'. They rounded a corner, flying toward a small gap where one skyscraper had collapsed leaning against another. With expert precision and timing, they all sped through the small gap. One of the pursuing fighters tried to follow, but was much too big to fit through the gap and was destroyed by the resulting crash.

As the airdrop team deployed parachutes and set down at their objective, the rocket team had finally gotten to a high enough floor of the damaged glass building to have a shot at the master control pillar. Seeing as the upper third of the building (which they were in) was leaning at almost a 10-degree angle due to damage further down the structure, every shift of movement or sound of groaning metal was nerve-wracking. Everyone's pulse went up as the building shifted a teensy bit.

"This was a bad idea" said the man on Epps' team who was carrying the rocket.

"Hey," Sam replied, "if we don't do what we came to do and take out that pillar, it doesn't matter – we're _all_ dead. This is your shot, man! Make it happen!"

The big man swallowed his fear and shouldered the rocket launcher, preparing his shot… when suddenly the building began to creak and groan and tip a little more. Everyone grabbed hold of something, and one of Epps' men was able to look down out the window.

"They're shooting at the building!" he said. "Three hostile fighters, blasting at the weak spot below us!"

Before long, everyone had given up on trying to get a shot and were just focusing on keeping their footing. By the time the fighters stopped blasting the building, the top section was leaning by almost 20 degrees. And just when everyone started to relax, one of the fighters' Decepticon pilots decided to inspect the floor personally, leaping out of his aircraft and into the building while his autopiloted craft landed itself below. Everyone stayed silent and hidden as the hunched-over Decepticon hunted for them. As soon as the 'Con was in position, Epps threw a frag grenade and signaled for everyone to run. Wounded and stunned by the blast, the Decepticon was kept further off-balance by gunfire sent its way by the retreating soldiers as the group ran 'up' the building.

They shot out and jumped through the windows, sliding down the 'slope' of the building, and as they approached the break they shot out the windows ahead, dropping back into the building on a lower floor… and sliding helplessly 'down' the floor, heading inexorably toward the broken-out windows at the 'bottom'. Dinobot drew his drill-sword and dug it into the floor, catching himself and then reaching out to grab one of Epps' teammates, saving him. Sam grabbed hold of some loose cabling and then caught Carly, while most of the rest of the group caught onto support pillars or bolted-down desks. One man couldn't find anything to grab hold of and almost fell out… only for a golden 'chain' of magical energy to race out and wrap around his torso, arresting his fall; Venus breathed a sigh of relief, already using another of her chains to secure herself to a pillar.

Unfortunately, however, a desk knocked out of place by a tumbling Epps fell out through the open window, plummeting down to the street far below… and right onto Shockwave's head. The powerful Decepticon looked up, his single glowing red optic zooming as he spotted and focused on Epps, who was looking down at him with panic.

"Aw shit, Shockwave's lookin' right at me!" Epps shouted.

Shockwave called out in Cybertronian, summoning the titanic Driller.

"And he's brought his pet with him!"

The massive mechanical beast roared and then dug into the building, emerging higher up and then diving back in, making its way up through the structure. Up above, the team frantically tried to get away from the windows and find something to hold onto, as the Driller soon reached the weak, damaged part of the skyscraper. It coiled around the weakness and began constricting, 'bisecting' the building until the top portion fell over, the top of it landing atop a neighboring building, preventing it from falling to the street far below. Inside, everyone hung on for dear life, and watched in horror as the Driller began to approach.

"We're all gonna die!" one of Epps' men screamed.

"Look!" Dinobot suddenly pointed out at the city streets below. "Down in the sky!"

"Is that a bird?" Minako wondered.

"Maybe a plane?" Carly supposed.

"No" Sam grinned. "It's Optimus!"

Sure enough, Optimus Prime – armed, thanks to his trailer/armory, with jet thrusters and two huge arm-mounted guns – came flying in, blasting the Driller with both cannons on full-auto. Parts came off of the beast, blasted out by the shots, and it roared and tried to swing one of its sawblade-tipped limbs at Optimus as he passed, to no avail. He flew up above the collapsed building, firing a few missiles to clear a path, and then dived straight down with blades out, punching clean through the Driller's neck. The beast's head collapsed to the street a second later, followed by the rest of it. Unfortunately, however, as Optimus flew away a grazing shot from an enraged Shockwave threw him off-course, doing minimal damage but sending him careening into a nest of cables, leaving him ensnared and hanging upside-down from a half-constructed building.

As Sam & Epps' group made their way down the shorter building's fire escape and hurried through the streets and alleys, hundreds of pillars were deployed from positions around the world, floating up into space and forming a grid. Meanwhile, the group came under fire as they approached a fork in the alley path; Epps and his squad went left, but Sam & Carly kept going straight. The couple soon found themselves in another wide alley, which included a slightly-rusty old school-bus. They stopped to catch their breath, hiding behind a hunk of concrete… and then an F-18 came swooping in, transforming into a Decepticon.

"Hello, kiddies!" Thundercracker cackled.

Sam & Carly immediately tried to run, but the sadistic Decepticon easily kept pace, enjoying the fear he was instilling in them and dragging out his 'fun'. Carly managed to get into cover, but Sam was still exposed. Thundercracker drew one of the swords that were built into his wings, raising it high… and was blindsided by a flying kick by another jet-form Cybertronian, one who Sam quickly recognized, except for the fact that his formerly-red optics were now purple.

"Hide, boy!" Starscream shouted.

Sam was happy to oblige, scrambling into cover as Thundercracker got back on his feet.

"Starscream…" he growled. "You betray Megatron?"

"There has to be a way to save Cybertron other than enslaving and extinguishing an entire sapient race" Starscream replied. "Besides, it's clear that Sentinel Prime is the one in charge, and it is a certainty that he will dispose of the Decepticons once they are no longer of use to him! He does not truly care about restoring Cybertron; he only wants to make himself into a god! He is mad with power, and is no longer what is best for Cybertron, for our race! That is why I choose to help stop him! If Megatron can be swayed to see reason, then so be it, but if not then he must perish as well. I _will_ see Cybertron restored, but _not_ under the control of a mad conqueror with a deity complex!"

"You would see our work undone, deny us our slaves?"

"I have seen the potential slumbering within humanity; I am curious to see it awaken. …And stop trying to pretend you're not at least partially in this for the slaughter, Thundercracker. I know you."

"…Heh. Heh-heh. Actually, this is good. Y'see, I've always wanted to see you scrapped, and now I've got the opportunity to do it myself! I'll send you straight to The Pit, and then Megatron will name _me_ Air Commander!"

He then charged at Starscream, bellowing a war cry as he fired his wrist-mounted gatling gun while brandishing his sword. Starscream dodged and ducked around the shots and then slapped Thundercracker's sword-strike aside, countering with a kick to the leg and an elbow to the face. Thundercracker used his thrusters to jump backward, avoiding a burst of gunfire from Starscream's wrist-mounted gun, only to take a pair of missiles to the torso from Starscream's launcher. He snarled and drew his other wing-sword, dual wielding, but when Starscream charged him the other 'bot caught him by the wrists, stopping his swings, and then dealt a rising-knee/wrist-twist combo that relieved him of one of the blades. Starscream stepped back, now brandishing one of the swords and taking a stance. After a second, the two aerial-bots charged each other and locked blades. Meanwhile, Lennox and his squad had arrived and gotten Sam & Carly, and now stared in awe.

Starscream went on the defensive, blocking and parrying Thundercracker's strikes. After a short while, Thundercracker overextended on a thrust that Starscream sidestepped, and Starscream then quickly reached out and broke his arm, Thundercracker howling in pain and rage as his arm was left dangling, sparks coming out from where it bent at an odd angle. He'd dropped his sword in shock when the arm was broken, and Starscream now pressed his attack. Now Thundercracker was on the defensive, frantically trying to dodge Starscream's attacks and fight back with only one working arm. It wasn't long before Starscream scored a decisive hit, severing Thundercracker's left leg at the knee and then unloading on him with his gatling gun. Thundercracker slumped against a building wall, sparks and Energon leaking from him as he feebly tried to raise his gun against Starscream, only for it to be slapped away as Starscream pointed his missile launcher at his head.

"You always were a sadistic pain in the skidplate, Thundercracker" Starscream said.

He fired twice, scattering the contents of Thundercracker's cranial module all over the alley. He then stepped back from his former ally's corpse and turned to face the humans. He nodded to them, and then transformed and took off.

"Well, that was weird" Sam said. "Shall we keep going?"

-_Mini-Break_-

Soundwave felt satisfaction as he looked at the quartet of prisoners he and his men had taken – Bumblebee, Mirage, Wheeljack, and Ratchet. He'd sent a report to Sentinel Prime, and now he had just received a response: execute. He chuckled evilly as he gave the signal to his underlings, and as one they drew their weapons and pointed them at the captive Autobots. One of the Decepticons stepped forward, charging his weapon and pointing it at Wheeljack's torso where his Spark was… when all of a sudden, a 90mm explosive armor-piercing cannon shell hit the 'Con in the back of the head, blowing his head to bits.

Soundwave and his cronies were caught completely off-guard as Warpath and Ironhide came charging in, firing their big guns. Three more Decepticons went down before they knew what hit them, and Barricade quickly transformed and retreated as fast as he could drive. Soundwave ducked into cover and returned fire, keeping the two Autobots' heads down, but then a hand gripped his shoulder and turned him around. The barrel of Bumblebee's arm cannon, 10 inches from his face, was the last thing he ever saw.

As Soundwave's headless body toppled to the ground, the nearby bridge lowered, and Lennox & Epps' group crossed over as quickly as they could. While the six Autobots headed out to regroup with the rest, the human-led group continued through the city, heading for the building where the master control pillar was located. Soon, it could be seen, letting out rapid pulses of energy. Behind them, one of the Decepticon's airships began dropping fighters and plummeting from the sky, heading for the river, but they paid little mind, so focused on the increasingly-active pillar.

"We have to hurry!" Sam said. "It's about to-"

Too late. A bright beam of bluish-white energy shot up into the heavens from the master control pillar, activating the hundreds of subordinate pillars in orbit, which generated their own beams that combined with the controller's. The converged beam raced out, and halfway between Earth and the Moon a rift opened in reality. From it, a gigantic planet, at _least_ four times Earth's diameter from what could be told by observation, began to gradually emerge. Soon, Cybertron's face filled the skies over the Western Hemisphere. Decepticons began to converge along the road that ran past the target building.

"Now what're we supposed to do?" Epps said as he and the others observed the gathering of hostiles. "Even with all the Autobots, I'm not sure we can get past all that."

"We may not have to" Garrus spoke up; even with the species difference, the smile on his face was plain as day. "I just received word over the comm. that we've got some major help coming."

"What kind of help?" Sam asked.

As if on cue, there was a sudden flash of light and burst of noise from above. Everyone looked up as a massive, 1600-meter starship, gleaming silver with glowing blue lines running along it, emerged from slipstream space above the city. The _Starshot_ was here. What's more, it was flanked by two more ships – the UNSC _Charon_-class frigate _Forward Unto Dawn_, and the Phoenix League-owned _Behemoth_-class battlecruiser _Striking Hammer_.

"_That_ kind of help" Garrus replied.

The Decepticons stared up in shock at the interlopers, and two of their airships began to ascend toward the three starships, charging weapons… only to be hit by a barrage of pinpoint-accurate fire from the three ships' point-defense guns, the sheer magnitude of fire causing fatal damage. The two 'Con ships plummeted in flames, plunging into Lake Michigan, while dropships and drop-pods began to emerge en masse from the starships. A large Midchildan/Forerunner teleportation circle from the _Starshot_ appeared amongst the Lennox/Epps/Sam group, and from it emerged a sizeable group of people: Gamma & Sigma Teams, the rest of the Maximals, and the rest of the _Puellae_.

"By Primus…" Optimus Primal said as he looked up at the sky. "It really _is_ this realm's Cybertron…"

"We don't have much time" Sam said. "If that planet makes it all the way through, Sentinel will take command of all the Decepticons still on it and enslave humanity, use us as labor to rebuild the planet."

"Where's Optimus Prime?" Teana asked.

"Last I saw him, he was tangled in a bunch of cables, hanging upside-down from a construction site. The Wreckers were tryin' to cut him loose."

Primal nodded. "I guess I'll have to do until he gets here" he quipped. Then his whole body glowed as he increased in size dramatically, soon towering over the others. When the glow faded he was in his 'Optimal Optimus' form, as tall as his ancestor/namesake. "Our forces are engaging the Decepticons throughout the city," he said, "but the bulk of them seem to be concentrated here, near the control pillar. We'll need to push through them to get to the pillar."

"Right" Lennox said, as several more DDF hard-hitters arrived. "Let's send 'em to the scrapheap."

-_Mini-Break_-

Sentinel Prime stood tall atop the human tower, as next to him the master control pillar thrummed with power. Above him, Cybertron continued to gradually emerge through the space bridge. Below, many Decepticons gathered in the streets, celebrating 'their' victory. He was ever-so-slightly worried about the trans-dimensional interlopers now engaging his forces in the outer areas of the city, but they were still just humans, and they wouldn't dare fire down on the city when there could be survivors hiding anywhere; what harm could they cause? …And suddenly, his attention was drawn to a series of explosions down below on the street, as Decepticons began to fall.

As Lennox's team launched a demolition-charge-assisted surprise attack on the Decepticons from the sides, the coalition's main force attacked down the street, led by Optimus Primal and the Autobots. Sam made his way through the chaos as best he could, occasionally firing overcharged shots from his plasma pistol at Decepticons' faces, leaving them stunned to be finished off by the others. The Decepticon known as Barricade suddenly found himself surrounded by dozens of Mami's summoned muskets, along with a _Tiro Finalé_ cannon pointed at his head; they all fired at once, the high-velocity magic bolts tearing through the Decepticon's body from all directions, and his lifeless, mangled form toppled to the ground. After none of the 'second' coalition's Digimon heroes being able to participate in the latest few conflicts due to holding down the fort in their own worlds (and recovering/rebuilding after the incident with Daemon and a reborn Millenniummon shortly before the coalitions' merger), Gallantmon – his two sapient components having hitched a ride on the _Dawn_ – was visible bowling one Decepticon over with his shield and then shoving his lance through the chest of another. The PLF's Sgt-Maj. Mel Johnson was seen to blast out one 'Con's eyes with her dual blaster pistols, and then clamber up it and slice its head off with a Sangheili plasma sword.

And then Optimus Prime joined the fray, flying in and using a small Decepticon as a landing pad. He moved forward, a whirlwind of destruction, using his arm-mounted cannons and then his twin hot-blades to strike hapless Decepticons down with grace and ease. He drew close to Shockwave, who was frantically trying to take down some of the humans peppering him with heavy armor-piercing rounds. Prime rolled under a cannon shot sent his way, and then brought his heated blade down, vertically bisecting the fearsome Decepticon warrior in one swing. As the two halves of Shockwave began to fall, Optimus grabbed hold of the right half's arm cannon, pointing it at the control pillar up above and firing. Despite Sentinel Prime's best efforts, the device was knocked out of alignment and then tumbled over the side of the building. The translocation paused, Cybertron's partially-transported face hovering in place in the sky.

"Sentinel!" Optimus shouted. "Get down here!"

"Optimus…" Sentinel snarled. "You forget your place." He drew his blade, leaping off the roof and digging it into the side of the building to slow his fall, jumping off and hitting the ground with a thud from 40 feet up. "I bring you Cybertron, your home, but still you choose humanity."

"You were the one who taught me that freedom is everyone's right" Optimus replied as he drew his heated-blade axe. Then he charged, the blade clanging against Sentinel's shield, and then leapt back to avoid a retaliatory strike from his fallen mentor's sword. The two Primes flew into a hectic duel as the other Decepticons were mopped up.

Suddenly, a barrage of crimson energy bolts came flying in at Optimus and Sentinel. As they were Primes, their total immunity to all magic-, chakra-, and Force-based attacks protected them, but it still got their attention. And then a pair of telekinetically-thrown cars came soaring in at them, followed by a barrage of debris, forcing them into cover. The culprit soon emerged, clinging to the side of a building with staff in hand, the reddish glowing portions of her armor pulsing with power.

"Eve…" Optimus said.

"She bears the energy signature of The Fallen" Sentinel said. "What is she?"

"She was a captive of a corrupt human government in another Realm. The Fallen rescued and empowered her; his influence, combined with her experiences, have led her to desire the extinction of humanity. She is after me because I killed her master, and is likely after you because your enslavement of humanity would prevent her from exterminating them."

"She is so lost in darkness and hatred that she would kill over seven billion beings for the actions of a few thousand?"

"Yes…" Optimus replied, a hint of sadness in his tone.

Forming an energy blade from the tip of her staff, Eve leapt down and began charging at the two Cybertronians… only to be intercepted by a flying kick from an armored human bearing the Phoenix League crest on her armor's chestplate.

"Do what you have to do with Sentinel, Optimus" Melody said, activating two plasma swords. "I'll deal with her."

She rushed at Eve, pushing her back. Optimus' observance was cut off as he barely noticed and avoided a sword-swing from Sentinel, quickly getting back into their fight like nothing had happened. After several seconds of this, a pillar of light shot up into the sky, and Cybertron continued to slowly emerge; someone had reactivated the pillar.

The fighting continued without significant change for another minute or so. Then, however, something unforeseen and _very_ significant happened. Up in space, a fleet of 10 TSAB vessels emerged from transdimensional slipspace, all of them fitted with special gear. What's more, they had recently made limited contact with The Ark in the UNSC's home universe, and Mendicant Bias was standing by to help. The ships all fired their Arc-en-Ciel cannons on a new setting at the same point along the portal beam, creating a slipspace rift that the beam went into… and Mendicant created another rift that returned the beam to realspace, way out beyond Mars' orbit. Instantly space-time "hiccupped", and the portion of Cybertron that had emerged over Earth vanished and reappeared out where the portal beam's new convergence point was, continuing its gradual emergence point out there. At this point, a radio transmission was sent out for all to hear.

"_Attention, Decepticons: We, the Dimensional Defense Force, hereby offer to assist voluntarily in the rebuilding of Cybertron. Lay down your arms, and we can restore your home together. All we ask is that you cease pursuing aggression against the Autobots and organics, so that we may all rebuild Cybertron together, as partners and equals. Renounce war against us and the Autobots, and you can share in the prosperity and freedom from pointless war; continue to seek our destruction or enslavement, and you will meet death. The choice is yours._"

Around the city, a handful of Decepticons responded by laying down their weapons… but Sentinel Prime had ensured that the vast majority of 'Cons present in Chicago were those who would never accept peace with Autobots or organics, and they continued fighting, some of them even killing most of those who attempted to surrender. Sentinel himself continued his attack on Optimus Prime and the Autobots.

"Sentinel, stop!" Optimus said. "It's over! The humans want to help us!"

"Never!" Sentinel roared, his optics turning from blue to red. "These disgusting organics _dare_ to call themselves our equals?-! Ludicrous! They are our _slaves_, and they will either bow to us, their masters, or die!-!"

Over by the pillar, Dylan Gould stared up at the sky as he realized he was in trouble. If the Decepticons won, Cybertron would be saved, and he would be spared when the 'Cons harvested humanity for slave labor. If the Autobots won, Cybertron would _still_ be saved, but he would likely be locked up for the rest of his miserable life. Well, maybe if he could convince Witwicky to-

His thoughts were interrupted as Sam, way too angry from what Dylan had done to Carly to give the man a chance to surrender, charged him again while drawing something from his belt that the DDF had given him upon arrival: a Sangheili plasma sword, which he activated and then rammed through Gould's chest. The man gasped his final breath as Sam yanked the blade out and then kicked him off the debris mound to fall to the street below.

In another area, Megatron sat against a building, staring up at the sky, his sensors allowing him to 'see' Cybertron emerging at its new translocation point. He had heard the transmission as well, and didn't quite know what to think of it. Thoughts old and new swam through his mind. And then his attention was drawn to a lone female human clambering atop some nearby rubble to face him.

"Was it all worth it?" Carly asked. "All this work to bring Sentinel back, and yet he clearly has all the power. It's almost tragic, really; your Decepticons finally on the brink of reaching your goal, and yet it's he, not you, who's leading them. Look at what he's reduced you to!"

Before Megatron could respond, another figure arrived, flying in and transforming to land in front of him.

"Starscream…" Megatron said. "You have the gall to show yourself after betraying me?"

"I was always on the side of Cybertron, and of our species as a whole" Starscream replied. "And I know that if Sentinel Prime succeeds, he will dispose of most of the Decepticons once they outlive their usefulness to him, and then enslave the rest alongside the humans. I would rather die free than live a slave. …For the longest time, you have lost sight of what is truly important, ignoring Cybertron to focus on this war against Prime and his Autobots. When I first joined you so long ago, you still had Cybertron's best interests at heart, but you threw that away. Ever since The Fallen got his clutches on you all those millennia ago…"

"Cybertron's safety is all I care about at this point."

"Then get off your skidplate and do something to secure that safety! The humans and other races of the multi-dimensional alliance have offered to help rebuild our world; we do not need to follow Sentinel's plan of enslavement anymore! He cares not for restoring our world, only for making himself the god of it! We need to end this fighting if our race and our world are to survive. You were once the Protector of Cybertron, tasked with defending world and race from people who would threaten it – people like what Sentinel has become! Remember who you once were!-!"

-_Mini-Break_-

Optimus fought tooth & nail as the duel between him and Sentinel took them to an area next to one of the bridges that crossed over the Chicago River. After all the fighting he'd done today, he was starting to become affected by fatigue, whereas his fallen mentor was still going strong.

"You were always the bravest of us!" Sentinel said as he blocked Optimus' axe strikes with his shield. "But you could never make the hard decisions!"

Sentinel managed to slam Optimus into a bridge pillar with his shield, stunning him, and then knocked away his axe and sword.

"We were gods once! All of us! But here…" He raised his sword to strike. "There can only be _one_!"

Suddenly, a roundhouse kick from behind and to the side hit Sentinel Prime in the head, knocking him aside. Optimus looked up at his rescuer, and felt shock as he gazed at a familiar face, now with purple optics instead of red.

"Get up, Prime" Megatron said as he pulled Optimus to his feet. He then turned to Sentinel. "I _will not_ allow Cybertron to fall under the control of one such as you. …I was and am the Lord High Protector of Cybertron, sworn to defend our home from those who would threaten or exploit it. Your delusions of godhood over our race will _not_ come to pass!"

Megatron then drew his plasma shotgun while Optimus retrieved his axe, and the two rushed at Sentinel. Despite the fact they'd been fighting each other for so long, the duo managed to work in concert with a surprising level of coordination. But still, Sentinel beat them back. He moved with a speed and fluidity that belies his age and his fury, and it took Optimus & Megatron everything they had to keep from being forced onto the defensive. Optimus was slammed into a building wall hard enough to go partially through it, left in a stunned state as Sentinel drew his acid-rust blaster.

But then, a sliding kick from Megatron knocked Sentinel down and away, losing his grip on his weapon. Optimus jumped up to his feet, snatching up the cannon and pointing it at Sentinel. The fallen Autobot barely had time to register the sight before a blast hit him in the 'stomach' area. He doubled over, holding a hand over the rapidly-growing hole in his torso. He then looked at his former protégé.

"Optimus…" he said. "All I ever wanted was the survival of our race. You must see why I had to betray you."

"You betrayed more than just me" Optimus replied. "You betrayed the spirit of the Autobots, betrayed everything you once stood for… and in so doing, you betrayed yourself as well."

Another shot was fired, blowing Sentinel Prime's head to rusty bits. The corpse toppled to the ground, rapidly rusting away.

Sparks and debris flew as Melody and Eve continued their fight. Melody had over a decade-and-a-half of combat experience, along with the 'knowledge dump' that affected her in her first trans-dimensional jump, but even so she was barely breaking even against the angry Lucavi who wielded The Fallen's power. Her two plasma swords clashed against the unbreakable staff and the energy blade that extended from its tip, while she also had to keep a constant eye out for telekinetically-thrown objects and teleport strikes.

Finally, though, Eve made a mistake. Driven by her disgusted hatred, she went for a follow-up attack when it would've been wiser to back off for a moment or try another angle, and ended up overextending her blow. Melody immediately and ruthlessly exploited the split-second opening, an upward swing of one of her blades cutting partially through Eve's right wrist, loosening her grip on the staff enough for Melody to kick it away. Then, Melody stabbed her other plasma blade clean through the center Eve's upper chest, and then swung upward, bisecting her upper torso, neck, and head vertically. Eve's body fell backward, landing with a thud and a rattle of armor. Starting at the cut and slowly spreading, her body was dissolving into red-orange particles that drifted and faded away, with her staff doing the same.

"Rest, victim of the Confederacy" Melody said sadly. "If things had been different, Eve, we probably could've been friends…"

Back at the bridge, Optimus and Megatron stared at each other.

"I'm tired of all this, Prime" Megatron admitted. "All this fighting has brought nothing but destruction, never truly accomplishing anything. It needs to end, for our species' sake. I will order all Decepticons still loyal to me to stand down, including those who are still on Cybertron. We will not pursue further hostilities against you or the humans; any Decepticons who defy this order of mine will meet swift and harsh justice. We will rebuild Cybertron, with or without help, and when we are done we will call for you and yours to return home, if you choose to."

"It will be difficult getting many of them to listen to you" Optimus warned.

"Oh, don't worry" Megatron punched his palm. "They _will_ listen. Starscream and I will ensure that."

"Well, that's good" said a small voice. The two turned to see a pair of tiny Autobots climbing out of the Chicago River. "This whole war bit's gotten kinda stale, y'know?"

"Wheelie…" Optimus said. "What were you and Brains doing in the river?"

Brains pointed to the wrecked Decepticon battleship in the water upstream. "We did that" he said. "Snuck aboard, ripped important-lookin' stuff out 'til she dropped. We rode her down; we survived the crash, they didn't."

"We had to do _somethin'_ to contribute" Wheelie said. "We ain't big enough to be any good in a straight-up firefight, so…"

"That was surprisingly courageous of you" Megatron remarked.

"Yeah, thanks. It was kinda fun, too."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Next Day**

Things had mostly calmed down, with everything being explained to the public. Cybertron sat comfortable in its new orbit between Mars and the Asteroid Belt; no-one was quite sure how the huge mass didn't at all affect Mars' or the asteroids' orbits, or how it possessed habitable warmth that far from the Sun, but most chalked it up to 'ancient mystical Cybertronian tech' and left it at that. Megatron and those loyal to him had taken up shop there, where the charismatic (and terrifying) leader had quickly set to corralling the 'Cons there into following his new decrees; those who resisted, hell-bent on war against the Autobots and humans, were incarcerated or eliminated. The DDF's engineers and big-shots were collaborating, working out a detailed reconstruction plan for the giant mechanical planet.

Aboard the _Starshot_, in the portside lounge, Gamma & Sigma Teams were either relaxing or (in the case of Teana and Aqua) going over after-action reports. By some miracle, not a single Autobot had fallen in battle, though there had been a few close calls. The girls' activities were halted as Colonel Holland walked in, saying "at ease" before they could even stand up to salute.

"I've got news, girls" he said. "We know where we're headed next. We've identified the location of something that can either give us another card to play against the Dark Voice, or tell us where to find something that can do so. A lot of the DDF's big names will be joining us there."

"Where to, sir?"

"We're going back to Belka."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Unknown Forerunner Site**

A bright point of red-orange light came into being, multiple small same-colored particles revolving around it. The particles converged, taking a humanoid form. After several seconds, an armored figure dropped to the ground, landing in a kneeling position with her staff in hand. She heard footsteps, and looked up to see a massive synthetic being, at least 10 feet tall, silver with deep blue 'running lights'. It had a rifle-looking thing in one hand and a glowing blade in the other. Its body looked vaguely insectoid, with a carapace-like design, and a pointed helmet covered a glowing blue face.

She stood tall, glaring up at the mech. It snarled and lurched toward her, and she blocked it with her staff. But then, a pulse of energy raced out from her staff, flowing into the mech. Its lights turned the same red as the lights of her armor, and it stepped back, taking a subservient pose. Several more of the blue-lights mechs emerged from the shadows, hissing at her, but then she banged the bottom of her staff against the ground, unleashing a wave of power that 'turned' them all. As one, the crimson-lit war-droids bowed before her.

Overlooking her new cadre of Promethean Knights, Eve allowed herself a wicked grin.

**-**_**BOOK 19 END**_**-**

Next Time, the DDF heads to Belka, in search of ways to head off the Dark Voice and Xehanort before their plan(s) can progress further. What will they find when they explore the ruins of the TSAB's predecessors? Look for Book 20, Ancient Worlds, in the Nanoha fics section.


End file.
